Teams have continued pouring into Nome, filling out the upper ranks of the 2017 Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

Champion Mitch Seavey won his third title Tuesday in a record time of eight days, three hours, and 40 minutes, slashing more than seven hours off the previous record. The Seward musher says he started the race with an aggressive schedule that his fast team eclipsed.

“So that’s pretty cool, the trail was a little faster and smoother than it might have been. I really strongly believe in preparing the dogs to go do what they’re going to do and you shouldn’t really be surprised that it happens.”

At 57 years old, Seavey is the oldest musher to win the race, breaking the record he set in 2013 as a 53-year-winner.

“And I do feel like I’m getting younger, not older, so as long as this is a thing that interests me the most, this is probably what I’ll keep doing. At some point, there might be other things when I grow up, but I’m having so much fun with these dogs.”

Dallas Seavey and Nicolas Petit arrived in a tight race for second and third, respectively. Norwegian Joar Ulsom earned fourth place late Tuesday with his team of 8 dogs. The fifth place finisher had twice that number. Jessie Royer did not drop a single team member over the thousand-mile race and pulled onto Front Street with each of the 16 dogs she drove from the Fairbanks start.

“I think running the [Yukon] Quest beforehand had a lot to do with that; 11 of these finished the Quest with me. So I think that had a lot to do with ‘em. The other five I added to that, 11 are all, like, 5 and 6 time Iditarod finishers. I had one that just finished his 7th Iditarod with me. So, all 16 of these dogs are thousand-mile finishers. Before I finished this race. But even then, the good Lord blessed me with a good bunch of dogs and good luck to get ‘em here.”

Following Royer Wednesday morning were Wade Marrs and Ray Redington, Jr. There was a race out of White Mountain for eighth place. Pete Kaiser left the checkpoint just two minutes ahead of Aliy Zirkle. But by the time they were speeding into Nome, Zirkle had overtaken him, as she explained just as Nome’s air raid siren heralded Kaiser’s ninth place arrival.

“I didn’t catch him until Topkok. When we couldn’t see very well. And then, I rode his skirts almost all the way up Topkok, and then, he stopped. He was like ‘ok, you can take your turn goin’.’ It’s hard to drive a dog team into a 40-mile-an-hour wind.”

Kaiser’s finish is the best of any team from off the road system. When asked why this year’s was an exceptionally fast race, Kaiser says that’s just where dog mushing is at right now.

“It’s just an evolving sport every year. And there’s those guys up front who are pushing the envelope every year, and getting better and better and better at this, and you’re seeing faster dog teams, and they look better than ever. I mean, 9th place in under 9 days? It’s crazy. So, it’s cool to see it evolving so quickly.”

To round out the top ten, veteran musher Paul Gebhardt notched his 8th career top ten finish.

There were a few upsets in the standings, as some mushers faded along the coast and others rallied. Four-time champion Jeff King struggled to stay within top-twenty range and, at one point, worried this year might mark his worst finish ever. But he roared out of Unalakleet, passing numerous competitors and ultimately arriving 11th under the Burled Arch in the bulky garment he’s deemed the “Arctic mumu.”

“I just don’t think I have the energy to race the whole race like this. But I knew I did from Unalakleet, and kinda like Tom Brady, I had a strong 4th quarter. But I couldn’t have done this without doing what I did earlier. I wouldn’t have been able to keep up this pace without taking it pretty easy at the beginning.”

Rounding out the top 20, King was followed by Ramey Smyth, Michelle Phillips, Ryan Redington, Hans Gatt, Ralph Johannessen, and Ken Anderson. 18th place was a bit of a tie, as partners John Baker and Katherine Keith from Kotzebue opted to cross the finish line together. The pair was greeted by singers and drummers from St. Lawrence Island. In 20th position was Linwood Fiedler.

Alaska Public Media’s Zachariah Hughes also contributed to this story.

]]>28468After challenging runs, Gatt and Burmeister take 9th and 10th placehttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/03/12/after-challenging-runs-gatt-and-burmeister-take-9th-and-10th-place/
Wed, 12 Mar 2014 12:41:04 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=8001This year’s race is “definitely the craziest Iditarod I’ve ever run,” Hans Gatt said under the Burled Arch – Nome’s Iditarod finish line – on Tuesday night. After ample amounts of wind and glare ice on the trail over Golovin Bay, a run that Gatt says “doesn’t get much worse,” he was happy to be…]]>

After ample amounts of wind and glare ice on the trail over Golovin Bay, a run that Gatt says “doesn’t get much worse,” he was happy to be in Nome – and surrounded by cheering supporters and race fans, no less. The Canadian musher finished in 9th place.

Aaron Burmeister embraces one of his children shortly after pushing past the finish line in Nome on Tuesday night.

Finishing in 10th place in Iditarod 2014 on Tuesday night, Nome-raised musher Aaron Burmeister’s arrival seemed not only to be a homecoming but, also, a triumph.

After his substantial challenges on this year’s Iditarod trail – the most prominent of which was a triple tear in Burmeister’s right knee – the musher’s Nome finish, just past sunset, was understandably emotional both for Burmeister himself and for the family, supporters, and race fans who gathered, in large numbers, to see him.

“It’s just incredible to be back home again; this was one trip that I never thought was going to end. It was one thing after another, and full of challenges… I am really happy to be back in Nome.”

Nome, seemingly, was happy to have him back, too – and the warm reception was certainly prompted, at least in part, by Burmeister’s amazingly resilient spirit in the face of his serious injury. Echoing the same message the musher told KNOM in the Cripple and Kaltag checkpoints this year, Burmeister said:

There were so many times throughout this race that it would have been really easy to get on an airplane and call it a day, but that’s not what we do this for, that’s not what I live for or stand for, and when we start something, we’re going to finish it. We certainly had our share of challenges on this one, but there was never a doubt that we were going to make it to the finish line.

Hear Aaron Burmeister finish in 10th place in Nome Tuesday night:

http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/03/iditarod-2014/2014-03-11-iditarod-finish-10-burmeister.mp3
]]>8001Gatt, back in the Iditarod, surveys a “pretty strange race”http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/03/05/gatt-back-in-the-iditarod-surveys-a-pretty-strange-race/
Thu, 06 Mar 2014 02:53:03 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=7602If Hans Gatt had known how bad the early sections of this year’s Iditarod trail would be, he perhaps wouldn’t have returned to the race. Being back on the sled for an Iditarod is a “dream” for him, but – as he told Laureli in Takotna on Wednesday – perhaps the more accurate word for…]]>

If Hans Gatt had known how bad the early sections of this year’s Iditarod trail would be, he perhaps wouldn’t have returned to the race.

Being back on the sled for an Iditarod is a “dream” for him, but – as he told Laureli in Takotna on Wednesday – perhaps the more accurate word for the race, through the first few days of mushing, would be “nightmare.”

Gatt’s dogs, however, are doing well, and slight injuries to his face sustained earlier in the race have largely been healed, thanks to some time for rest and recuperation in Takotna.

The Iditarod is a “pretty strange race” in 2014, but at the Takotna checkpoint Wednesday afternoon, the musher was smiling brightly. Hear Hans Gatt in Takotna:

Currently on his 24-hour layover, Hans Gatt will be the third musher eligible to depart the Takotna checkpoint; with his starting differential factored in, his layover will conclude at 12:32am early Thursday morning.

In the past two days, Nome has been buzzing with Iditarod; as of dinnertime Wednesday night, the top 19 mushers are in (with the 20th, Rick Swenson, in sight on Nome’s outskirts), and there are dozens more still to come.

These two days have been filled with incredible moments: from John Baker’s historic, record-breaking championship to a photo finish between Ken Anderson and Jessie Royer, who vied for 9th place early Wednesday morning and passed under the Burled Arch only one second apart.

The finishes of these 36 hours have, also, shown us the best of both Iditarod’s heritage and its future, with seasoned veterans (like John Baker, Ramey Smyth, and Hans Gatt) sharing the top standings with accomplished young mushers like Dallas Seavey, Bethel’s Pete Kaiser, and Akiak’s Michael Williams, Jr.

We’ve assembled our recordings of the top thirteen finishes, below, in chronological order. Relive the first finishes of Iditarod 39!

As Hans Gatt pulls up the chute, public affairs director Matthew Smith - wearing the dark navy KNOM winter hat - narrates his finish for Western Alaskan listeners. (KNOM's Matty Guiffre was also on hand; he's wearing the light grey hat, just to the right of Hans Gatt.)

One of Hans Gatt's sled dogs in the chute, just after Gatt's Tuesday finish.

In Unalakleet Sunday morning, veteran musher Aaron Burmeister said of John Baker, “this is his race.” That may yet be true, but as Day 8 of Iditarod 39 comes to a close, Baker’s lead has narrowed.

Departing Unalakleet, Baker had a comfortable 3-hour cushion over Hans Gatt, with three and a half to four hours separating him from Ramey Smyth, Hugh Neff and Sebastian Schnuelle.

Leaving Shaktoolik, however, the standings tightened. Baker took almost three hours of rest in Shaktoolik, giving the rest of the top five – Smyth, Neff, Gatt and Schnuelle – the chance to close the gap. And they did.

The other four mushers took only short rests in Shaktoolik – Ramey Smyth only a minute, just enough time to check in and check out again – and by 6:30pm Sunday, Baker’s lead was down to 41 minutes.

In Unalakleet, KNOM trail reporter Laureli Kinneen caught up with three of the mushers that, as of Sunday night, could upset Baker’s lead: Ramey Smyth, Hans Gatt, and Hugh Neff.

Smyth explained his decision to take a longer rest in Unalakleet and said his dogs were eating and resting well. He also bemoaned the rough trail from Kaltag to Unalakleet and, with regards to his competitors, vowed to “race the hell out of ’em”:

In contrast to Ramey Smyth, Hans Gatt seemed much more willing to concede first position.

Talking with KNOM’s Laureli Kinneen, the Canadian musher said he felt like “the slowest guy out there” and couldn’t believe his times were as fast as they were. With regards to John Baker, Gatt was full of praise. Baker’s team “looks great,” Gatt said, and “shouldn’t have any problems”; unless something unusual happens, there’s “no way that anybody will catch him (Baker).”

Of course, that was all before Gatt pulled within an hour of first position. Here’s Gatt’s interview with Laureli:

Hugh Neff was feeling good about his run to Unalakleet, where he arrived in 4th position and departed 5th. Neff talked with Laureli about how he snacks his dogs, his experience in making the 90-mile run from Kaltag, and his outlook on the trail ahead:

As of Sunday night, Ramey Smyth is in 2nd position; he departed Shaktoolik at 6:21pm with 11 dogs.

Hans Gatt is 3rd position; he left Shaktoolik with 13 dogs at 6:25pm, just four minutes after Smyth.

Hugh Neff dropped one dog in Shaktoolik and departed with 9 dogs at 7:11pm; he’s now in 4th position.